Increased sales in 1H/2016 for Connect Group

Connect Group reports sales of EUR 62.0 million in 1H/2016 (1H/2015: EUR 56.9 million). Restructuring costs of EUR 1,156K were booked in 1H/2016 after loosing ASML as a customer and the subsequent dismissal of 33 employees in the Dutch facility.

CEO Jeroen Tuik comments: “As the new CEO as of May 2016, I am delighted to report a good 1st half-year. As a result of the capital increase, we have significantly improved our solvency. Moreover, we have taken action to improve results and we have a good customer base. The only setback in the period was the discontinuation of the collaboration with an important customer in the Netherlands. We will be finishing all work for it in a correct manner and the impact is fully incorporated in H1 figures.”

“As regards the company’s future, I see it positively. Over the past few months I have got to know many highly motivated and skilled colleagues as well as customers upon whom we can build. Though there is still a lot of work to do, we are on the right track. Now that we have strengthened the balance sheet, we can set our sights on growth and on winning new customers, though always with a clear focus of profitability.”

Connect Group reports sales of EUR 62.0 million for 1H/2016, compared with EUR 56.9 million in 1H/2015. At the end of 2015, Connect Group's customer ASML announced that it would not be placing any new orders and that existing orders were to be completed. Sales to ASML in 1H/2016 reached EUR 8,605K (2015: EUR 6,084K). Without ASML, sales in 1H/2016 reached EUR 53,411K (2015: EUR 50,823K). Sales to ASML will drop to a negligible level as of July 2016.

The gross margin was 11.8 percent, against 6.4 percent in 2015. Operating profit before goodwill impairment and restructuring costs amounted to EUR 1,705K in 1H/2016 (2015: a loss of EUR 1,837K).

Following the announcement of ASML at the end of 2015 to terminate its business with Connect Group, the necessary measures were taken to align costs with the new situation. In the Dutch plant where most of the ASML work was done, 33 employees have been made redundant.

Orders dropped from EUR 86.5 million at the end of 2015 to EUR 78.5 million at the end of 1H/2016, whereby the 2015 year-end orders contained EUR 7.7 million from ASML. Without these ASML orders, the level of orders remained basically stable. The order book contains formal commitments from customers, but may be subject to adjustments in numbers and timeframes.

During 1H/2016, investments of EUR 0.3 million were carried out, mainly in the form of minor adjustments and replacements. In previous years, investments had been made in new product lines and improvements to buildings.